IBM says sale of low-end server business gets regulator approval

A worker is pictured behind a logo at the IBM stand on the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover February 26, 2011. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp IBM.N said on Friday that U.S. regulators had approved the $2.3 billion sale of its low-end server business to Lenovo Group Ltd 0992.HK, as the company continues its shift to more profitable software and services like cloud computing and data analytics.

IBM has already divested $16 billion in annual revenue over the past decade from low-margin businesses like personal computers and printers.

The approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States came despite CIFUS members' concern, first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, that IBM servers used in the Pentagon's networks could be accessed remotely by Chinese spies and compromised.

Lenovo has been through the secretive CFIUS process three times before and has won approval each time, according to a source familiar with the process.

CFIUS, an interagency group chaired by the Treasury Secretary, reviews deals that could bring U.S. businesses under foreign ownership and is required by law to assess any transaction involving a state-owned firm.

Lenovo said in a statement that it remains on track to close the IBM server deal by the end of the year.

Analysts say Lenovo will likely find it easier than IBM to sell the x86 servers to Chinese companies as Beijing tries to localize its IT purchases in the wake of revelations about U.S. surveillance.